


Birdsong

by hnathe (vesuviusPrivateer)



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F, Meet-Cute, Temporary Character Death, f!robin femslash week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 08:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21051536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vesuviusPrivateer/pseuds/hnathe
Summary: Collection of fics for f!robin femslash week.Day One: Meeting - Sumia/F!Robin, Queen Robin of Plegia AUDay Two: Battle - Sumia/F!Robin, Sumia vs Grima





	1. Meeting

"But what if I trip?"

  
"You do that all the time, Sumia."

  
"Yes, but not in front of foreign royalty! I'll shame all of Ylisse!"

  
The order had come a week ago. Sumia had succesfully distracted herself with novels and fortune telling for six days, but on the eve of her mission the dam broke.

  
The Queen of Plegia would be making her first diplomatic visit to Ylisse since succeeding her late father. Little was known about her, as she had made few public appearances during her father's rule, but it was rumored that she had been serving as an advisor to her father long before ascending the throne herself. However, the Queen had risen to the throne with a message of peace and restoration that promised an end to the tensions between the two kingdoms, and Ylisse was anxious to receive assurance of that peace, in the form of a treaty.

  
As a show of trust, and more importantly, nonaggression, the Queen's guards would hand her off to an Ylissean security detail at the border, who would then escort her to the Exalt's palace.

  
And Sumia was to be part of that detail.

  
"We'll be in the air the whole time," said Cordelia, eyes following Sumia back and forth, "so you won't trip, and even if your flying is off, she won't be able to see enough of you to recognize later."

  
"But what if-"

  
"Sumia!" Cordelia scolded, and Sumia finally stopped her pacing, "What good does it do you to work yourself into a panic now? If you had doubts about joining this detail, you could have brought them up earlier and been taken off. Why didn't you?"

  
Sumia twiddled her fingers together, wishing she had some petals to pluck. "I- well- it sounded like such an exciting idea at the time, and . . . I suppose I was curious to see this Plegian queen, but-"

  
Cordelia sighed, but did not sacrifice her perfect posture to lean back in her seat. Even with the barracks empty, but for the two of them, she maintained her absolute perfectionism and professionalism.

"While I can't really commend that motivation . . . Isn't it still exciting?"

  
"Oh, yes, of course!" Sumia said, clasping her hands together, "A mysterious visiting royal, and me, escorting her to the palace?" She sighed. "It sounds like I'm in one of my books."

  
"And do the characters in your books trip and fall in front of royalty?"

  
Sumia paused to consider that. If she were Cosette, her favorite Wyvern Wars character, she--Well, no, Cosette would probably pick a fight with the Queen, she needed another example. Perhaps the dashing and noble Harriet could-. . . Probably elope with her, once again not a great source of inspiration. Then, dutiful Eleanor could-

  
"Sumia, you're mumbling."

  
"Eep!" Yanked from her reverie, Sumia quickly stood at attention, and coughed. "You- you're right, Cordelia. I- I can definitely do this!"

  
Cordelia raised one elegant eyebrow, taking in Sumia's faux-confident pose. "If you're sure. . . Good luck, Sumia."

  
Sumia nodded, grinning, and hiding her trembling hands behind her back. "You too!"

* * *

  
Cordelia was right about being in the air the whole time, and while Sumia was relieved that there was no chance she could trip in front of the Queen, she was a bit disappointed that she wouldn't really get a good look at her, either.

  
"A ball will be held in honor of the treaty signing," Cordelia had told her, "You'll see her there."

  
Cordelia herself was stationed on the opposite flank of the Queen's crossing point, too far away for Sumia to chat with while waiting for the Queen to arrive, so she waited, bored out of her mind and wishing she had brought a book with her--though, if she were honest with herself, she would have been too afraid of somehow missing the arrival to read a single page.

  
She might have been the first person to see the approaching caravan. Dark, winged steeds circled the sky above, and a group of about fifteen riders galloped toward the border below. No carriage was there to conceal the Queen, much to Sumia's surprise. While she could not make out any details of the individual riders, and could not break ranks for a closer look, unless they had somehow hidden her away by other means, then the Queen must be riding among them.

  
They were met by Frederick's unit at the border. One hooded rider dismounted their horse, and Frederick bowed to them. Sumia strained her eyes, as if looking harder might make that hood disappear, and give her a good look at the visitor. A beautiful dappled mare was brought out for the hooded rider, who mounted with ease, and turned to face the Plegian detail. One by one, the Plegian riders peeled off and turned back toward their own country, until the only one left was the hooded rider. A signal flag was waved at the pegasus knights, and Sumia turned to begin the flight toward the palace.

  
The flight back was so calm, Sumia couldn't help herself but to steal glances down at the retinue below, being careful not to send her pegasus out of line as she did. Her toes twitched in her boots, and she almost released her reigns to twiddle her fingers, the nerves overtaking her sense of professionalism. She knew she should be watching out for aerial attacks, or hidden assassins, but her eyes inevitably drew toward the Queen.

  
Which, it turned out, was probably for the best.

  
She wouldn't have heard the whinny, or the shouts of dismay as the Queen's mare reared back, pawing at the air. Frederick had dismounted to try to calm the beast, but it would not be soothed. Sumia dove. She thought she heard Cordelia shout at her from the other flank, but the wind in her ears blew her words away.

  
"Frederick, please, allow me!"

  
"Sumia?!"

  
Sumia congratulated herself on an unusually graceful dismount, then immediately set to work on the frightened mare. She looked around for the source of her discomfort, and found it in the gravel of the path. A snake, flattened by trampling feet, but probably still a source of discomfort for the horse. Sumia kicked it as far off of the trail as she could, and turned to grasp the mare's reigns.

  
"Shh, shh, it's alright, girl. You were afraid of that snake, weren't you, you poor thing? Don't worry, Sumia has it all taken care of. There, there . . ."

  
The mare snuffled a few times, and leaned her head into Sumia's hands, finally soothed.

  
"Sumia, was it?"

  
Sumia froze at the unfamiliar voice, as it suddenly occurred to her whose mount she was petting. She raised her head to look upon the hooded Queen.

  
But the Queen's hood had fallen back in the struggle with her mount, and Sumia caught sight of her long white hair, gleaming in the summer sun, her brown skin and even darker brown eyes, and a grateful, gentle smile. Sumia gasped lightly despite herself.

  
"Thank you, Sumia, for your assistance," she said, inclining her head--bowing, Sumia realized, to her. "I'm afraid horses are not my strong suit."

  
Sumia stared, voiceless, until Frederick pointedly cleared his throat "Oh!" Sumia quickly bowed deeply, "Not at all, your Majesty! It's my job--I mean, it's my pleasure to assist you!"

  
"Hm." Sumia dared not raise her head, and began to count the rocks along the path. 1, 2, 3 . . .

  
"It is still quite a trek from here to Yllistol, is it not?"

  
18, 19, 20 . . .

  
"Yes, your Majesty," Frederick said, "we should set off immediately, before this delay makes us any later."

  
"In that case--Oh, Sumia, please raise your head. I'd like you to ride alongside me, to look after my mount."

  
37, 38--What?

  
Sumia stood at attention, meeting the Queen's eyes as she smiled down at her, and turned to Frederick. "I--but I was assigned to lookout- I-"

  
Frederick scratched at his chin, considering. "We have five other riders in the sky. If her Majesty wishes, you can be reassigned to this detail."

  
"She does wish," said the Queen, patting her horse's neck with an almost hesitant hand. "As much as it shames me to admit it, I've never been particularly good with animals. I would be much more comfortably with Sumia here to look after my mare."

  
Three times. The Queen of Plegia had said Sumia's name three times.

  
Sumia bowed. Several times. "Of- of course, your Majesty! Thank you for this great honor, I-I will do my best not to disappoint you--I mean, not that I--Um--am usually a disappointment but, um--"

  
A chuckle. Sumia raised her eyes to meet the Queen's.

  
"Alright, alright. Thank you, Sumia. I am in your care." The Queen smiled, and Sumia's stomach did a flip. This was going to be a long, awkward trip.

* * *

Sumia supposed it could have gone worse. After about half an hour the Queen seemed to realize Sumia was far too nervous to carry on a proper conversation, and had mercifully allowed her to remain silent for the rest of the trip, saving Sumia from putting one of her accursed boots in her mouth in front of a visiting royal. Her hands still shook, even a full hour after they had arrived in Ylisstol, and she still had to make an appearance at the welcome ball tonight!

  
Sumia read the same paragraph of Wyvern Wars Volume 6 a fourth time, and wondered if her mother might not lose her head if she decided to sit this ball out--Surely there would be enough representatives of her house at the ball already without Sumia there to trip over her gown and pitch into a punch bowl, shaming the lot of them. It wasn't as if they were a major family--nobody expected all of them to be there, did they?

  
That was the thing though, wasn't it? Mother would want Sumia there to, ugh, schmooze with the wealthier, older families--make a good impression on the visiting Queen, and--

  
Sumia slammed her book shut. Gods, if her mother heard about the impression she had already made, she'd have her head! Sumia groaned, letting her head drop to her desk. Maybe if she made the case that she would only embarrass the family more she could get out of it--spend the evening wrapped up in the adventures of Cosette and Eleanor in front of a cozy fire.

  
"Sumia?" A knock, and a cousin's voice. "We need to be getting ready for the ball."

  
Sumia raised her head, and glanced at the door, before giving her book a long, longing look.

  
"Sumia!"

  
"Ah- Yes! I'll be right out!"

At the very least, Sumia thought, she always did enjoy seeing everyone prettied up for events like this. Surely the Queen would wear a lovely gown. . . Sumia wondered if it might be worth the potential embarrassment, if the Queen recognized her, and smiled at her again. . .

"SUMIA!"

"AAAH! I'M SORRY!"


	2. Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sumia faces down an all too familiar face in the battle for the world's salvation.

“Sumia!”

  
The cry rose up from the cacophony of crashing blades and smashing shields, ringing above the voices of soldiers and steeds alike to Sumia’s ears. That was a voice she could hear from a mile away, and her heart slammed in her chest as if it sought to burst through her armor. Sumia swept her eyes over the battlefield below, straining to see a flash of white among the combatants and to hear that voice again. Her name rang out again from the chaos, and Sumia swiveled around to face the far end of the battlefield, to see a familiar face, smiling up at her.

  
“Sumia,” Robin repeated again, expression soft, too soft, for the battle surrounding her, “How wonderful it is to see you again. It’s been so long. . .”

  
Robin raised her arms up, as if to catch Sumia in a strong, gentle embrace. Sumia was struck by the familiarity of such a pose, memories of dismounting into Robin’s waiting arms after a long scouting mission or a tough training session flooding into her heart. Something on Robin’s left hand glinted, and although from this height Sumia could not make it out, she knew what it was, and her blood ran cold.

  
Sumia hefted her spear, and lunged.

  
The mockery of her wife dodged almost lazily, letting the edge of Sumia’s spear tear along her cheek as if it were nothing. Sumia turned sharply to face her again, spear forward, and Robin let her head loll over her shoulder, gaze amused. No blood spilled from where her skin had been torn by Sumia’s attack, and the wound revealed no flesh beneath—only a deep darkness from which gazed two bright red orbs beneath her human eye. Far more unsettling than this, however, was the grin that stretched her face as she turned fully to face Sumia.

  
“Your aim could use some work, Dear Heart,” she laughed, “You were always so clumsy. . . but is it clumsiness, now, or are you so hesitant to destroy this body?”

  
Sumia grit her teeth, knuckles straining around her spear. She shouldn’t let her keep talking. . . Even if Chrom was the one who needed to make the final blow, surely she could shut her up, make her stop talking with Robin’s voice, stop smiling with Robin's face, without killing her.

  
“So _angry_,” Grima said, contorting Robin’s face into a frown, the pitiful effect marred by her jagged wound, “And here, I was _so_ looking forward to seeing you again. It's been so long, _my love,_ since I killed you last."

  
"You're a _monster_," Sumia whispered, "I am not _your_ love."

  
Grima chuckled, playing with a length of white hair. "Oh, I suppose not, but the woman who once owned this body did love you _so_ deeply. . . Do you know, this shell wept when I killed you. Can you believe that?" Her laugh this time was sharp, loud, mocking, "This body was still capable of weeping for the woman it loved, even as it took her life. I wonder. . ."

  
Grima's eyes, human and monstrous alike, narrowed viciously.

  
"Will this form weep for you? Is there enough of her left to cry out, when I kill you again?"

  
The battlefield faded out of sight. The clattering of spears and shields went quiet. Robin. . . Not Sumia's Robin, but_ a_ Sumia's Robin. . . Surely she had also soothed her Sumia's doubts with a soft voice and a calloused hand, smiled and laughed along with her Sumia when she had gushed about her favorite books, sworn to love her Sumia more each day, for the rest of their lives. . .

  
And Grima had forced her to break that promise with her own hands.

  
Sumia urged her steed forward, a roar building in her chest unlike any sound she had made in her life, her eyes locked to that cold smile.

  
_"How dare you wear her face?!"_

  
Sumia thundered forward, spear braced to impale. Any thought of allowing Chrom the final attack flew out of her mind as she sped toward her goal, filled only with the desire to end this mockery once and for all.

  
And she might've, her spear certainly did meet its target.

  
Only, a mighty bolt of lightning met it first.

  
Sumia lost her grip, but there was no clatter of her spear upon the scales of the dragon beneath her, for it had pierced through the human vessel of Grima, who lurched violently, wide-eyed and coughing blood, to see who had struck her from behind. Sumia shook her head, taking gasping breaths to keep down the coming tears.

  
"Why. . ."

  
_"YOU!"_ Grima cried, voice gurgling with blood, _"No--NO!"_

  
"It's. . . It's over." Robin gasped as she lowered her shaking arm, hand still sparking with the remains of magic.

  
Grima cried out again, draconic roar matching Robin's stolen voice in agony. Sumia could only stare as pieces of the vessel began to fall away, twinkling into violet light and blowing away on the wind. The other Robin's eyes cast wildly about the battlefield as her hands pawed uselessly at the spear buried in her chest, until her human gaze fell once more upon Sumia.

  
And for a moment, just a moment, those eyes became the eyes she loved, and the tears that sprung to them were not those of a woman made to kill her love, again, but of triumph, joy, and finally, release.

  
Then she was gone, but the violet light was not. Sumia looked upon _her_ Robin, trembling.

  
"You said you _wouldn't_. . ."

  
Robin smiled.

  
"You knew I had to."

  
Sumia stumbled dismounting, but she would have crawled to Robin in that moment, if she had to. Every step between them was a mile, every second a century, until Sumia was once again in what remained of her wife's arms, hands reaching desperately to touch her face before it faded away.

  
"You can't go--you can't _leave!_ We- we were supposed to live happily ever after, weren't we?"

  
Sumia could feel Robin _trying_ to hold her tight, could just feel the press of near-intangible lips upon the crown of her head.

  
"You will, Sumia. I know you will."

  
"Not without _you!_"

  
Robin pulled away just enough to look Sumia in the eyes, fading fingers brushing the hair away from her face.

  
"I've had my happily ever after, Sumia, I've had _you_." She smiled, and the tears tracing down her cheeks fluttered away in specks of light. "No one could ever be as happy as you made me. . . Perhaps, in another, better life, we'll get to hold onto that happily ever after much longer. I'll hold you in my heart until that life comes."

  
Robin's lips met Sumia's in one last kiss, and she was gone. Sumia's arms embraced the cold air, and then herself, as she wept.

  
"Me too. . . I'll hold you here, forever."

Forever, and after, until her arms were full again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's fine Robin comes back. I've really wanted to write Sumia fighting Grima particularly in the context of Sumia as Robin's wife for a very long time, but I haven't played Awakening in ages so I don't know how IC Grima is here.

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be the opening chapter to a whole big gay political intrigue thing but. . . I'm a very busy person with ADHD, and it happened to fit the Meeting prompt, so at least now this part can see the light of day? I love fromia so much . . .


End file.
